Paramount+ Star Trek: Discovery - Official Thread (2 Viewers)

[Nelson Au]

Spoiler: Spoiler Alert

is The Keeper going to erase all of Spock’s memories of visiting Talos IV?

I’m not seeing yet how it makes sense. Not yet anyway.

This was a good episode, but it was a little amusing how they had such different A and B stories in this episode to move the overall story along. I’m a little worried about the spoiler above and how they might be treading into dangerous ground. But I’m curious how they will make this connection work.

The Times Bends was a good bit. I wondered if that explosion was going to affect Saru’s homeworld, but it must have been far enough away to not cause a temporal problem. Sam, I wasn’t able to make out the dialogue between Pike and Tyler about why Pike was doing what he was doing while caught in the temporal tsunami.

The business with Leland is interesting and how Geogiou is using her evil skills at manipulating the situation.

So what do you suppose is going on in Airiam now?

Josh, I hope you’ll let us know about the Apollo 11 documentary, how you liked it.

 

[Carabimero]

I have watched DSC season two and been entertained by it without being intrigued. After 22 episodes of DSC, I am finally intrigued.

What finally intrigued me? The words Sam hid above in his spoiler.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I think I know why we’re going there

The shortest episode of the season, and possibly the most thrilling. I love timey-wimey stuff so that part was great, and I enjoyed the family interactions as well.

Notably, tonight’s episode is the first that’s not credited to Harberts and Berg as showrunners.

Loved the exchange between Tyler and Pike right before the smash cut to main title.

“I can’t get rid of Voq. It’s impossible.”
“I know the feeling.”

It’s like they’re commenting on my comments!

So I think you know what TOS episode I have to watch to end the night. And even though I prepared for the season by watching The Cage... it was always inevitable that I was coming back for The Menagerie, wasn’t it? That story, in its original iteration and its reframing into a two-parter, it’s always been about searching for (and finding) something that’s been lost. What that is and from what perspective changes in each telling. And here we are, with Discovery in 2019, searching for something that’s been lost...

If these stories of Star Trek sometimes repeat familiar touchstones, if we keep finding ourselves with new variations on old themes, maybe that just means Trek has become our folklore to be passed down and reinterpreted for each generation. We live in challenging times and Trek at its core is about hope and optimism. Through it, we see that we can be better, and that’s how it happens. You can laugh at that, except...we have flip phones and iPads and that just scratches the surface of what’s been inspired, and it just goes to show that if you can plant the idea, people will bring it to life. And if Star Trek is the myth we return to, if that’s the idea we keep coming back to... isn’t that what hope looks like?

 

[Jason_V]

I'll admit: the ending of "Light & Shadows" got me. Through the entire episode, I couldn't really make out the numbers Spock was saying, but I heard enough to try and put the pieces together. My memory wasn't getting me anywhere, so I chalked it up to random numbers. And then the name popped up and I might have shouted an expletive or two at the screen. Not because the name is unwelcome, but because, like Nelson, I didn't understand the connection. I still can't, but that's okay. I'll happily wait until next Friday night to figure out what's happening (Thursday night is Captain Marvel).

There are things that don't quite make sense with the little bit of information we have, considering this episode takes place about ten years before TOS. Again, I'm going into this with an open mind.

One thing came to mind in the Geogiou/Burnham fight: for being an "undercover" organization and cloaked ship, the Section 31 ship may be the best interior lit ship ever. There are lights for days. (And some of the shots from the fight-the panel cracking from the inside, for instance-were wild.)

 

[Josh Steinberg]

My guess:

Spoiler

Spock’s brain is broken. Whatever information he received from the Red Angel overwhelmed him and it’s all a mess in there. The mission to Talos IV from “The Cage” would have occurred a couple years before this season’s events. I think Spock now wants to go back because he hopes that their awesome mental abilities can fix his mind.

 

[Nelson Au]

I’m using all my life experiences to resist looking at your spoiler Josh. I’ll keep seeing if I can come up with my own theory or just wait till next week like Jason.

I did see the previews for next week. And I was pleased and totally understood the need for updates to the design of you know what’s. They were still recognizable, if you’ve seen the original.

 

[Sam Favate]

Here's a conversation I am waiting to hear on the show:

Tyler: Captain, I'm tired of skirting around it. What's your problem with me?

Pike: My problem isn't with you, Tyler. It's with who you work for and what you do.

Tyler: Keeping the Federation safe?

Pike: And how do you believe you do that? By ignoring the rights of citizens? And by going around treaties the Federation signed in good faith? Ignoring the rules set up through our representative democracy?

Tyler: Captain, I can guarantee our enemies aren't worrying about--

Pike: When you ignore the rights of Federation citizens, you're not keeping them safe, Tyler. You've already caused them harm. I had hoped - long believed, actually - that we'd progressed beyond organizations like yours.

Tyler: With all due respect, sir, that's a bit naive.

Pike: You know what, Tyler? Maybe my problem is with you. By the way, did you know we have a room down a few levels where you can get a haircut? Why don't you clean yourself up? Show some pride in being in Starfleet.

[Tyler leaves, disgusted. Pike smiles to himself.]

 

[Nelson Au]

There’s a few things we haven't had too many discussions about.

Of course Peck as Spock is very limited in this episode, so it’s hard to form an option so far. It’s of course going to be impossible, short of Adam Nimoy portraying a young Spock, to find an actor to look like Nimoy. And to sound like Nimoy too. Adam is too old now of course. From what we saw, I thought he didn’t look the part much, the clarity of the image was so good, the make-up of the eyebrows just looked odd. Maybe they were going after the look from The Cage, so maybe I’ll take that back. This is still early, so I’m not going to be criticizing too much yet. If Peck can pull of the same kind of vibe as Nimoy, then that will be good.

There hasn’t been too much theorizing as to what the Red Angel is. At work, I found out a co-worker is a huge Star Trek fan. Someone I’d never think was! He’s convinced of what the Red Angel is.

Spoiler

its Michael Burnham.

I don’t agree with it yet, but it could answer a lot of continuity questions. The Iconians has been brought up. That still seems viable by how they suddenly can appear and disappear. And I was thinking it could be the Preservers because of the shape and design of the obelisk we saw on one of the planets that Michael sees when Lorca gives Michael a look into what the Spore Drive can do. The obelisk shape was also used on the devices that are on Saru’s homeworkd that the Ba’ru left there. So that might be an argument against that.

Jason, I’ve been wracking my brain on the numbers, 7-4-9 mark 1-4-8. Reversed and this is from what we saw on screen. I tried to find reference to them in the past and I haven’t found it, so they must be new numbers created for the teleplay for the reference they denote. I’m still speaking as if some might not have seen this week’s episode. . And my Star Trek chronology was a little off as I kept thinking Discovery occurs before The Cage. But it does take place after The Cage. So the surprise at the end of Light and Shadows makes more sense. But I still am trying to understand why.

Sam, I think the dynamic between Pike and Tyler has been some of the really good scenes. I rewatched parts and I finally figured out what Tyler said, he accused Pike of trying to make up for not being in the war by risking his life in the Temporal Tsunami. (Speaking of hard to understand dialogue, Michelle Yeoh sometimes is hard to understand. So I didn’t quite make out a line she made to Michael on the Section 31 ship when she walks off camera. ). Back to Tyler and Pike, I have a feeling that the bonding moments on the shuttlecraft and the old trick of igniting the fuel like a distress signal, have caused Pike and Tyler to have a better understanding of each other and perhaps there will be less bickering between them. Though I’m guessing that the underlying differences in philosophies they have will continue.

 

[johnnybear]

Has Speck turned up yet?
JB

 

[Greg.K]

Jason, I’ve been wracking my brain on the numbers, 7-4-9 mark 1-4-8. Reversed and this is from what we saw on screen. I tried to find reference to them in the past and I haven’t found it, so they must be new numbers created for the teleplay for the reference they denote.

Apparently a reference from the FASA RPG

https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Talos_IV

The digits of these coordinates are given in the FASA RPG book The Federation on page 31, where they are instead arranged as 7.49S 1.48E, placing the star group 74.9 parsecs to the south and 14.8 to the east of the center of Federation space.

 

[johnnybear]

Well we know that we're going to see the Talosians sooner or later don't we?
JB

 

[Nelson Au]

I kind of thought those numbers were from another source. Maybe a book or comic. But I never would have thought an RPG! I didn’t want to check Memory Alpha in case it might spoil next week’s episode. They are really on top of it.

 

[TJPC]

I’m using all my life experiences to resist looking at your spoiler Josh. I’ll keep seeing if I can come up with my own theory or just wait till next week like Jason.

I did see the previews for next week. And I was pleased and totally understood the need for updates to the design of you know what’s. They were still recognizable, if you’ve seen the original.

I’d love to see the preview for next week. Do you have a link?

 

[Neil Middlemiss]

I’d love to see the preview for next week. Do you have a link?

Try here:
http://www.spoilersguide.com/star-trek/season-2-spoilers-episode-8-if-memory-serves/

 

[TJPC]

Try here:
http://www.spoilersguide.com/star-trek/season-2-spoilers-episode-8-if-memory-serves/

Thank you! I see what you mean. In preparation, my wife and I watched “The Cage”. She had never seen it before.

 

[TonyD]

I just watched Episode The Sound of Thunder (by the way can you guys mentions ep title and or number. It's a tad tough to follow along at times)

It wasnt under lit on my tv.

Did notice that while saru was handcuffed to the wall and a bit before he pulled his one arm off the wall I saw him wiggling around trying to escape.
His other arm's cuff actually popped open but after a camera change and then back to the same shot the cuff was now closed. Oops.

 

[Jason_V]

Jason, I’ve been wracking my brain on the numbers, 7-4-9 mark 1-4-8. Reversed and this is from what we saw on screen. I tried to find reference to them in the past and I haven’t found it, so they must be new numbers created for the teleplay for the reference they denote. I’m still speaking as if some might not have seen this week’s episode. . And my Star Trek chronology was a little off as I kept thinking Discovery occurs before The Cage. But it does take place after The Cage. So the surprise at the end of Light and Shadows makes more sense. But I still am trying to understand why.

I literally had to go to Memory Alpha and write down the years to make sure I had the timeline right. At some point I'll it committed to memory just like everything else.

 

[Sam Favate]

A handy image (not mine) when dealing with Talos IV and Discovery:

 

[Nelson Au]

Thanks Sam, I was going to do a similar diagram!

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I was at a used book/CD/DVD shop looking for something else, and just on a whim, I walked by their TV section and they had a copy of the single disc/individual release of "The Menagerie" on DVD for $2. I couldn't resist it.

Now I just need to go back and pick up VHS copies to complete my collection And believe me, I'm tempted. I think my wife would kill me if a box of 79 VHS tapes showed up at the apartment, though.